The Conservation and Recreation Campaign is an organization dedicated to ensuring that every citizen of the cities, suburbs, and rural towns of Massachusetts has access to affordable, clean, and well-managed public land.

Monday, August 28, 2006

Which candidate would make a difference?

  • The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the Department of Fish and Game have had their budgets cut by more than 30% since 2001.
  • Last in the United States in state and local spending on on park and recreation as % of personal income. 48th in per capita spending
  • Only 5 Rangers outside of metro Boston to patrol 320,000 acres.
  • Spending on the maintenance of buildings, infrastructure, and landscapes within state parkland has been deferred until there is now an estimated $1.2 billion backlog of major capital repairs.

    Which candidate is going to be able to step forward and help pull our state and local parks out of this downward spiral?

Monday, August 14, 2006

Maintain state parks:How can Romney keep his promise?

From the Telegram
Monday, August 14, 2006



Mass. must reverse trend of decay

Gov. Mitt Romney’s avowed plan to raise Massachusetts state parks to world-class standards is laudable. Parks improve quality of life, attract tourists and educate the public. However, world-class parks are not free, or even cheap. Maintaining the public’s natural and historic treasures requires a continuing investment of time, energy and money, which for the past decade, has not been forthcoming. The result is the parks have become increasingly shabby. Fortunately, Mr. Romney, two years ago, appointed a stewardship commission, which in addition to working to improve management of parks is lobbying for park funding. Last year Massachusetts progressed from the 49th to 48th place in terms of per capita state funding for parks.


While creative approaches — volunteer efforts, corporate sponsorships, the partnership with the state Highway Department — can accomplish much, the parks still must have state funding. The crumbling summit roads at Mount Wachusett and Mount Greylock, for example, are unlikely to be rebuilt by volunteers. Massachusetts cannot allow its investment in hundreds of thousands of acres of forests and parks and in historic sites such as Plymouth Rock to deteriorate into shameful eyesores and breeding grounds for crime. Dwayne G. Ericson, supervisor at Wachusett Mountain and the nearby Leominster State Forest, said recently, “Any amenity we have, any built structure, is in decline.” This situation must be corrected. State officials should continue to pursue creative ways to maintain and improve public lands. In addition, the Legislature and governor must allocate a reasonable share of admittedly finite resources to parks and forests. The Environmental League of Massachusetts notes that about two-thirds of a penny out of every state tax dollar is spent on the environment. While modest progress has been made over the last couple of years, spending a whole penny of every tax dollar on the environment wouldn’t be too much to ask.

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

In the Spotlight...

Kathy Abbott tonight at 7 pm or 12 pm on "Greater Boston" with Emily Rooney!!


This past weekend we received great coverage in Globe Magazine: "Green Sweep". Be sure to check it out and watch tonights show!


On a positive Note.....
Globe Magazine "Green Sweep": “In a sign that Abbott’s message is beginning to resonate, the Legislature last month put an additional $11.6 million for the parks in the state budget, with $9.3 million surviving after the governor’s vetoes, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Association. ‘I think Kathy had a lot to do with that,’ says the Environmental League’s Gomes. ‘She brings a unique credibility to the issue and has been able to mobilize Friends groups around the state who heretofore didn’t have much impact at the State House. Kathy brought them together and made their voice heard.’”

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Daily Hampshire Gazette Editorial on Parks

This Editorial really sums up the problem state-wide.


In Our Opinion: Neglecting the parks
Daily Hampshire Gazette
7/26/06
The Pioneer Valley's Holyoke Range is a natural gem, with an extensive system of trails that wind through natural wonders. The state park, profiled in a series of Gazette stories starting this month, has grown into a popular attraction, drawing tourists, hikers and schoolchildren.
Sadly, though, the Notch Visitors Center, the gateway to this idyllic park, has been allowed to deteriorate because of a lack of state funding.
Consider its current condition: There's a nine-foot-wide pothole in the only road leading to the visitors center that fills up with water when it rains. The visitors center opened in 1982 and hasn't seen any significant improvement since then; it is uncomfortably warm during the summer because it lacks any kind of air conditioning. Its displays explaining the park's attractions are composed mostly of yellowed pieces of paper that have been taped to the walls for years.
That's hardly the kind of welcome mat the state should be putting out at its parks. Unfortunately, though, state government has put a low priority on park funding. The state's Department of Conservation and Recreation is spending 28 percent less on upkeep of state parks than it did five years ago.
A number of volunteer groups have stepped forward to help out at the Holyoke Range by donating labor and money. That's been helpful, but it doesn't excuse the state's neglect in maintaining its parks.
The state's failure to invest in its parks is shortsighted. The Holyoke Range has value beyond its status as a recreation area and educational resource. As a tourist attraction, it makes a contribution to the region's economic vitality.
The state's failure to invest in its parks is shortchanging the tourism industry, here in the Pioneer Valley and elsewhere in Massachusetts. Neglected maintenance will result in significantly higher reconstruction or replacement costs in years to come.
Tourism continues to grow in importance to the economy of the Pioneer Valley. In 2004, the most recent year for which statistics are available, tourists spent $86.5 million in Hampshire County, according to the state Office of Travel and Tourism. That benefited local business and government alike: $21 million went directly into salaries; the state picked up $4.8 million in tax revenues and local governments received $2.3 million in tax revenues.
Katherine Abbott, the former commissioner of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, estimated last December that the state had a backlog of $800 million in necessary park improvements. Some of the improvements are large, but some are as simple and inexpensive as providing the Notch Visitors Center with enough funding to hire a nature interpreter for the entire summer season.
Improvements are long overdue at our state parks, particularly at the Notch Visitors Center. The state cannot continue to run its parks on the cheap: The wear and tear is showing, and the state will eventually have to pay out additional millions in repair costs just as a matter of public safety.